The Engineering Services SKILLcard is operated by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and is held by more than 60,000 people working in the heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration sectors.

It provides evidence that they have the required training and qualifications for the type of work they carry out on construction sites.

Engineering Services was the first of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) affiliated cards to go ‘smart’ easing the process of updating the holder’s qualifications and making it simpler and quicker for site managers to check skills and prevent potential fraud.

“Following a recent survey, 75% of employers and cardholders made it very clear that they wanted to apply for their cards online,” said Rachel Davidson, director of certification schemes at BESA. “We listened to their needs and have responded.

“We were well aware that the manual process could be frustrating and time consuming, so moved quickly to introduce a new online process that new applicants will find simpler, quicker and easier.”

The CSCS Partner schemes, such as SKILLcard, play a crucial role in the government’s 2025 Construction Industry Strategy by helping clients check whether workers have the right qualifications for the job in hand and have suitable health & safety training.

Speeding up and streamlining the application process to keep up with the pace of change across the industry was, therefore, regarded as a priority by BESA. The new system has gone live for new applicants and BESA said it would also be extended to cover renewals over the coming months.